1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coupling device used for producing a flow path between a tank of a water vapor cutting device and a liquid-filled cartridge, wherein said coupling device comprises a housing provided with a receiving area formed therein for mounting said cartridge on said housing, and which coupling device comprises a channel provided with an input orifice fluidically connectable to said cartridge and with an output orifice fluidically connectable to an external surrounding area, for example to a tank.
Furthermore, the present invention relates to a water vapor cutting device provided with at least one tank for a liquid, a current source, a control device, and a cutting torch for producing a cutting beam exiting from a nozzle, which torch is connected to said tank via a feed line.
The present invention also relates to a control device for a water vapor cutting device provided with a storage element for process parameters and process procedures, which device is connected to a current source and a feeding device for liquids, particularly a pump or a locking element and/or a locking member of said water vapor cutting device, wherein said water vapor cutting device is provided with a tank that may be filled with liquid and a cutting torch connected to said tank and said current source.
Finally, the present invention relates to a method for controlling a water vapor cutting device, wherein the mode of operation of said water vapor cutting device is controlled by means of a control device by transmitting signals to a current source and to a liquid feeding device so that said liquid may be supplied from a fillable tank to a cutting torch and said cutting torch may be supplied with electric power from the current source if necessary.
2. The Prior Art
EP 1 050 200 B1 discloses a water vapor cutting device provided with at least one container for a liquid, a current source, a control device, and a cutting torch connected to said container or tank via a feed line to produce a water vapor plasma beam exiting via a nozzle. Said container may be designed as or may be connected to an exchangeable gas bottle or gas cartridge having a pre-defined internal pressure. Such pressure container allows supply of liquid from said container to said cutting torch without requiring a pump. For example, in a described embodiment the gas from said gas bottle flows into said container holding liquid and forms a pressure cushion forcing said liquid out of an exit opening of said container.
However, EP 1 050 200 B1 does not disclose how said tank of said cutting device is filled with liquid from a cartridge. Only one embodiment shows that this may be effected using an open container and a filling vent. This, however, proves hardly comfortable because it requires a locally fixed infrastructure, e.g. a connection to a water pipe, to fill said container, which can not be transported once it is filled. In addition, filling said tank takes a lot of time because said liquid flows into said tank only rather slowly as no additional pressure is applied. Therefore, it would be helpful to have a water vapor cutting device wherein said liquid may be filled in as independently of any infrastructure as possible. Moreover, the resources, particularly water, should be used as efficiently as possible, i.e. the liquid should be transferred into the tank without leaving a residue, without the risk of spilling, and as quickly as possible.
The above prior art systems also have the disadvantage that the liquid in the container can not be used up completely to subsequently re-fill the container. This may cause malfunctioning of the cutting process or may damage the torch because when the tank is emptied, air may be sucked into the lines or the tank, so that the system can not be guaranteed to operate properly any more. This means that, disadvantageously, the liquid resources can not be used optimally. However, it should be ensured that a cutting process may be carried out properly after the tank has been filled, i.e. that there are no air bubbles in the feed line leading to the cutting torch that may hinder the generation of water vapor and thus negatively affect the cutting process.